Thomas J. Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 I'm wanting to take my girl for a full check up and was wondering what it will be like when they draw the blood. How exactly do they do it on birds and will it be pretty traumatic for her? Thanks Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 (edited) I'm wanting to take my girl for a full check up and was wondering what it will be like when they draw the blood. How exactly do they do it on birds and will it be pretty traumatic for her? Thanks Thomas An experienced avian veterinarian is comfortable drawing blood, even from small birds, and will be able to calculate the amount of blood he or she can safely take from the bird's body weight. Many avian vets draw blood from the bird in the examination room in front of the owner. The most common site from which blood is drawn is from the jugular vein, on the right side of the neck. The bird usually has no bad or traumatic reactions The pet bird is commonly restrained in a towel and held so that it is lying on its side. Then, either the vet alone or the vet and an assistant grasp the bird’s head, locate the vein by putting alcohol on the neck, and then gently draw a small amount of blood into a syringe. After taking blood, the vet puts gentle pressure on the neck for a minute or two to ensure there is no further bleeding before releasing the bird. Other than to check a red blood cell count or a blood sugar level, or if the bird is too ill to be restrained for blood sampling from the neck, taking blood from a toenail clip is not recommended, because any debris on a toenail can interfere with blood test results. Once the veterinarian is assured that the pet bird has recovered safely from the blood draw and the physical examination is complete, the veterinarian should return the pet to its owner and offer to help the owner get the bird back into its bird carrier. The vet should ask the owner whether he or she has any questions and should offer the owner some idea as to when tests results will be back. An experienced avian vet will then follow up with the owner on the telephone, after the visit, to report test results and to see how the pet bird is doing at home. You should also call the vet to see if he wants a stool sample. Pieces of info is found just from the stool sample. Eyes are looked at, wing confirmation is checked, claws and legs are checked. Areas around vent areas are checked. Skin is checked for dryness and parasites. Edited September 14, 2015 by Dave007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas J. Posted September 14, 2015 Author Share Posted September 14, 2015 Thanks Dave for all that info, it was more than I anticipated and I appreciate it. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Great advice by Dave! He is awesome! When I got my girl Sophie, at age two, I didn't wait even 48 hours to get her into my avian specialist! Sophie was coughing and sneezing! I had an appointment a week later for First vet visit. I insisted on being seen right away...my vet knows I don't freak out easily! Sophie went in right away. She was coughing and sneezing, because my son was sick! My vet knew me very well, so he was happy to have a good laugh! He knew I was clueless... and directed me where I needed to learn... He did a complete physical, did the bloodwork, and told me, I had a very happy, feisty, grey, entering the terrible twos. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Thomas J - where in DFW are you? I saw in another post you mention north east metroplex. That's where I'm at, Allen to be exact. Anywhere near you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas J. Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 Hi there, sorry for not getting back with you sooner. I live just down the road in Wylie. I'll be taking my grey to Carrollton Animal Hospital where they are supposed to have a good Avian vet there. How about you, where do you go? Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Hi there, sorry for not getting back with you sooner. I live just down the road in Wylie. I'll be taking my grey to Carrollton Animal Hospital where they are supposed to have a good Avian vet there. How about you, where do you go?Thomas Oh wow, you are close! Might have to have a birdy meet-n-greet! We use Dr. Lass of Allen Veterinary Clinic as she is a certified Avian Vet. You are probably going to Dr. Osofsky in Carrolton. Dr. Lass consults with her when she needs to as Osofsky is considered the best Avian vet in the metro. We adopted a sick Jardines a few years ago and got to know who all the good and bad vets were in the area. We only found these two good ones. We ended up doing some consultations with the Avian research center down in A&M through Dr. Lass. Nice to know you're so close. Would love to know more about your Greybie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas J. Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 Yeah for sure we'll have to get together and check out each others birds. I'll be retiring soon and will have plenty of time to meet up then. I got my girl when she was 3yrs old in 2011 from a guy in Paris Tx. who said he was the second owner. She's pretty much a one person bird with me being her favorite. She doesn't take well to females with my g-daughter being the exception most of the time. Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 If she ever wants to come on a play date or needs a baby sitter, we have a full outdoor aviary that ours play in during the day and dedicated birdy room in our house! I've always wanted to see how GreycieMae reacts to another Grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas J. Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Well thanks so much for that offer. I'll definitely get in touch with you sometime after the end of October and we'll set up a time when we can get together. That outdoor aviary looks like it's a blast for the bird. How many birds do you have, just the two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 There's a third one that was playing in the basket in that photo - he's a Jardines, you can just see his head over the top. They spend their days doing a lot of this - throwing toys overboard so I can come home and pick them all up again. ...and the big fat naughty queeny who lords over all - Miss GreycieMae: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas J. Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Nice to see they have much to do when alone. I'm assuming you don't get much use of the aviary during winter months? And yeah I can see who is looking like the boss there. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I'll shove them out there around 55 degrees if there is no wind. They also stay out there into 100+ temps although I have a big box fan and mister that I use after 98 degrees. They DO NOT stay out there unattended. My wife is home all day watching them. Too much risk from the hawks constantly casing the joint and I also don't trust that someone won't find their way onto our property and steal them or thinks it's funny to shoot one with a pellet gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas J. Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Sounds good. I'll e mail you like I mentioned sometime after the end of Oct. Take care of those little ones until then. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Murfchuck is also not too far away from you both. I am down just outside Houston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas J. Posted September 26, 2015 Author Share Posted September 26, 2015 Well the checkup went just as Dave said it would. The "stop you're killing me" screaming was also present for most of the checkup, but when she got home it was as if nothing ever happened. Surprised the heck out of me. Anyway I got the results of the blood test today and everything was good so that made my day. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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